It All Started With A Smile

I didn't reply to John after that. In fact, I was awake the whole night just thinking. To be honest, I had a little crush on John when I first met him. Nothing like how I feel about Garrett. John, I like him. Garrett, I love him more than anything in this world. Now that John confessed his feelings for me, I don't know what to do with my life anymore. It must be the reason why he's quiet every time Garrett and I would act all sweet and stuff in front of him. Man, what am I supposed to do with my life? I don't know anymore. John obviously said it in the wrong time. Jack was here and I was dating Garrett. My life is completely ruined.

At 5 in the morning, I finally managed to fall asleep.

I woke up to Blink-182... Meaning, there was someone calling me. I looked at the caller ID and surprise! It was John. I wanted to answer it but I didn't. It could ruin my relationship with Garrett. And I don't want that. I want to marry Garrett. He's mine already. Why should I still let go of him? He was all I ever wanted. No one can change that. I couldn't sleep again so I decided to get up. I looked at the wall clock in my room and I was surprised to see that it was already 12:30 in the afternoon.

I went to the kitchen and found a note on the door of the ref. It read,
"Hey Julia!
We left early today. We're going to San Diego to go on a road trip.
You're coming too, don't worry! We'll be gone for about a week
so you gotta pack your stuff! Garrett will pick you up as soon as
you wake up. You can find your breakfast inside the ref. It's
labelled :-) Okay, bye!
xoxo,
Josh, Russell and Patricia"

Hmm, San Diego. I wonder why they suddenly planned a road trip. After eating breakfast, I packed my stuff. After that, I called Garrett so he could pick me up. It took him 10 minutes before I heard a knock on my door.

"Hello there, babydoll", Garrett said before giving me a tight hug and a kiss.

"Hey there, cutie", I said while hugging him.

We both had a big grin on our faces until he spoke.

"So, are you ready to leave?", he asked.

"Yes, indeed", I said while getting my luggage from the room.

"Hang in there! Let me carry your luggage for you, babydoll", he said.

"Thanks, cutie", I said as I gave him a tight hug.

I locked the doors in our apartment then headed to the parking lot where Garrett's car was parked. He was there waiting for me inside the car with the engine started.

"Aren't you excited?", he asked.

"I am. I'm just nervous", I said.

"Why is that?", he asked, curiously.

"I don't know. I just am", I said nervously.

Honestly, John's text message was still haunting me. I didn't want to tell Garrett cause it'll ruin everything. I don't want to ruin their friendship. Why is this problem making me regret staying in Arizona? Ugh. This isn't right.

The whole ride to San Diego wasn't really quiet. Garrett and I shared jokes and we were laughing the whole time. He kept on telling me how much he loves me and I kept saying it back. I would give him kisses while he's driving and he would tell me something like, "If we get in a car accident, it will be all your fault". But of course, it was all a joke.

After a long long long ride, we finally arrived in the hotel we were staying in in San Diego. Some of the guys were in the lobby, probably waiting for us. John was there. The moment he saw me, there was a big smile on his face. It was the smile he gave me the first time we met. Wait... Julia, stop it. You can't fall for him. No. Just no. You love Garrett and you are going to get married to him. Ugh.

"Hey! The lovebirds are here", Kennedy greeted.

"Hey Kennedy!", I said then gave him a hug.

I did the same with the other guys who were there. Only, it felt different when I hugged John. It made me nervous. Extremely nervous.

"Where's Patricia?", I said to distract myself so that I wouldn't have to look at John the whole time.

"Oh, she's in the hotel restaurant with Josh and Jared", Pat said.

"Oh okay. I'll just go say hi to them", I said then left.

As I entered the hotel restaurant, I searched for them. I didn't want to go back to the hotel lobby. I was afraid that I might fall hard for John while I was dating Garrett. This just cannot be. I literally shrieked when I found Patricia, Josh and Jared. I wanted to talk to them already about these things I am feeling. I know they're the only ones who can keep it a secret.

>>>GARRET'S SIDE OF THE STORY<<<
It was obvious. John liked Julia. I just couldn't believe it. Why can't he just tell me what he feels about her then maybe, just maybe, I could accept it? On second thought, I couldn't accept it. Julia was my everything. The reason why we all went to San Diego is because I was going to propose to Julia. I was ready to take it to the next step. I just hope nothing or no one would interrupt this. The sad part now is, John is here with us in San Diego. He liked her and I had no idea if Julia had feelings for John too.

This is it. I'm talking to John about it. RIGHT NOW.

"Hey John, can I talk to you for a sec?", I said.

"Sure. About what?", John said as we moved to the side.

"I know you like Julia. It's obvious, man", I said.

"Goddammit. So what if I do? Are you afraid that I might steal her away from you?", he replied.

"No. I just don't want you anywhere near her. Just here in San Diego. Please", I said.

"Deal", he said.

"Deal", I said as I shook hands with him. "But act like we talked about nothing, okay?"

"Sure, Gare", he said.

We walked back to the other guys who were talking about new band equipment and going to the beach tomorrow. We joined in the conversation but I told them that I'm going to the hotel restaurant to grab some food and look for Julia.

I got food and looked for Julia and then I saw her sitting with Patricia, Jared and Josh. They seemed to be having a serious conversation until Josh spotted me and smiled and gestured for me to join them.

"Hey there, Garrett", Josh said.

"Hey. What's up?", I said as I sat down.

"Oh nothing. We were just talking about what we wanna do here in San Diego", Jared said with a smile.

I sat there eating my food while talking to them. Julia seemed uncomfortable and I don't really know why. After finishing my food, I sat beside her and rubbed her hand to calm her down. She rested her head on my shoulders and it was all I could ever ask for. We all sat there talking until it was time for bed. We went up to our bedrooms and we were sorted out by band. Of course, I shared a room with my band and she shared a room with hers.

>>>BACK TO JULIA'S SIDE OF THE STORY<<<
Earlier today, we talked about how I felt towards John. I told Josh, Jared and Patricia that I had a crush on John the first time we met. They were quite surprised to hear cause it was all something new for them.

"Well, I'm surprised", Jared commented.

"Same here", Josh and Patricia said in unison.

I opened up my feelings to them and they all understood me. I was in the middle of telling them that I didn't want to ruin my relationship with Garrett, when GARRETT came and sat with us. I was nervous. I really really was.

You wanna know why?

He might have heard what I told them. But I don't really know. After he finished his food, he sat beside me and started comforting me. I know that he'll always be there for me. I love him. I just hope he proposes to me so that I could get rid of my so-called feelings for John O'Callaghan.

//\\//\\

The next day, we went to the beach. It was just a normal day... Except, we were in San Diego. We all wore beach outfits, alright. I found it a little awkward, though. Not because of Garrett but because of John. You know, I could actually feel like there's going to be another surprise later. I just don't know what.

After hours of swimming in the beach and getting carried by Garrett a hundred times, we finally settled down on the sand and ate food. In a matter of minutes, Garrett took out a small box and I was already about to cry the moment I saw it.

"Hey! Can I please have everyone's attention?", Garrett said while raising his right hand.

Then everyone's attention was on him. Man, I'm so nervous.

He knelt in front of me with the box on his right palm then said, "Julia, I took you to San Diego for this. We planned this the day you woke up late and you asked what we were talking about. So Julia, I love you with all my heart. I want to grow old with you. I want us to have a perfect family. Julia, I need you because I love you. Will you marry me?"